


Hidden Nerdy Interests

by Rai_T



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 09:47:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11250615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rai_T/pseuds/Rai_T
Summary: Alex learns about a new interest Maggie has.





	Hidden Nerdy Interests

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for any grammar mistakes

Alex and Maggie are driving to Midvale the first-time Alex notices. It’s subtle but present. Maggie is constantly skimming the other cars. Alex assumes she’s noting the make and model and organizing them in her personal likes and dislikes. At one point though, Maggie perks up at a true Junker. The windows are plastic wrap, rust holes are everywhere, the color is faded, the bumper is barely hanging, still, Maggie is intrigued by the car. Alex doesn’t mention it she just watches, notices. They get to Midvale for the weekend and any thoughts of Maggie’s reactions to random cars on the freeway are forgotten. 

The weekend comes to an end and they hit the road again. Alex pays closer attention this time. She tries her hardest to figure out the point of intrigue Maggie has for the other cars on the road. For the life of her though, even with her skills as an agent for the DEO, she can’t come to a conclusion. They arrive at Alex’s apartment late and they are both exhausted. Once again, the weird behavior is forgotten. 

Until they get in the car again that is.

This time Maggie is driving. Giving Alex a better opportunity to observe. Still, Alex can’t quit place the momentary excitement Maggie displays at different cars. The cars have nothing in common. Some are trucks. Some are vans. Some are tiny cars that Alex can’t believe people fit in. There’s nothing that connects the vehicles together. 

Not even the license plates were the same. They were from all over the country. This fleeting thought passes through Alex’s mind. And suddenly a lightbulb ignites. The license plates are different on the cars Maggie perks up at. Alex doesn’t say anything yet. She watches more, observes more, notices more. She notices that Maggie really, really likes plates from Florida, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New York, Georgia, Colorado, Arizona. She sees that Maggie shows indifference for plates from New jersey, Washington, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas. She notices that Maggie cringes slightly, almost imperceptibly every time she spots a plate from Nebraska. She notices that Maggie is most excited when she sees a plate from Hawaii. 

She doesn’t say anything for months. She just watches. She watches and she notes and she categorizes which plates make Maggie happy and which ones don’t. She also finds herself watching and noting the license plates on the cars herself. She pays attention to the plates and notes where each car is from. She notes which ones she likes and dislikes. She still doesn’t say anything. She lets Maggie think she doesn’t know her secret. She keeps quiet because there must be a reason she hasn’t mentioned her interest before. There has to be because they talk about everything. They talk about science, history, politics, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek, books, movies, T.V. shows, each of their childhoods or lack thereof, anything and everything. Therefore, Maggie not mentioning her interests in license plates must men something happened in the past to make cautious.

One day, months after Alex first noticed the license plate intrigue, Alex was waiting for Maggie at Maggie’s apartment. She walks out of the bedroom wrapped in a towel, a shower desperately needed after a fight with an alien that required Alex and the DEO to venture into the sewer system. She sits on the bed and towel dries her hair. She bends down to put her fluffy rainbow socks on and sees the corner of a box peeking out from under the bed. She knows she shouldn’t, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she pulls out the box. She removes the lid and her eyes widen in surprise. In the box sit file folders. Fifty of them to be exact, split into two different piles. One pile is marked with a sticky note that has the word “finished” written in Maggie’s messy scrawl. The other is marked with the words “still need.” 

Marked on each tab of the file folders is the name of a state. Inside the folders in the “finished” is a set of sample license plates for the corresponding state. The folders in the “still need” pile Alex finds money clipped to the inside. 

Sometime later, Alex has the “finished” pile spread out around her. She is incredibly impressed with Maggie’s collection so far. For some of the States, Maggie has collected a few different versions of the License plates. She so completely enthralled in the collection Maggie has amassed thus far in her life that she doesn’t hear the bedroom door open and Maggie enter. She doesn’t hear at least, until Maggie’s saying her name and asking her what she’s doing.

Alex’s head shoots up eyes wide and worried. She meets Maggie’s eyes not sure of what they’ll show. She thinks she’s going to be met with anger, she is snooping after all. Instead, she’s met with worry, sadness, and fear. 

Alex stands, “Maggie! Hi. Hello. How was your day?”

Maggie stares at her for a while finally asking again, “What’re you doing?”

Alex glances down to the side. “Um, we were meeting here tonight and I got off early and I needed a shower. Instead of going to my place I just came here and as I was getting dressed, I saw the corner of a box under your bed and the next thing I know, I’m surrounded by these license plates.”

“The next thing you know? So the folders lifted themselves out of the box opened themselves and spread their contents onto the floor around you?” Maggie inquires. She’s not quite angry but she’s clearly not happy either.

“No. Obviously they didn’t do it themselves. That’s not what I meant. It’s just, I-I was curious and when I saw the folders labeled with the States and. I’m sorry, I looked because I was curious and I shouldn’t have without your permission. I’m sorry. But Maggie this is so cool. I didn’t know there were this many different license plates for each state. I mean the only New York License plate I’ve ever seen is the yellow and navy blue ones. But you have one for New York that has blue on top and bottom, white in the middle, and the New York skyline in the top border. I didn’t even know that was a thing. And why in the world does Ohio have so many different license plates. Some of them are really ugly by the way. So I’m sorry, but Maggie this is so incredibly interesting and I’ve noticed how you look at the plates on the cars as they pass whenever we’re on the road. And I didn’t get it at first. Honestly, at first I couldn’t even figure out what you found so interesting about the cars that passed us. But once I realized you were reacting to cars with different license plates, I started watching for them too. And Maggie there are so many different versions that exist. There are ugly ones, boring ones, cool ones, even cute ones. It’s awesome and once I saw that the files held different plates I was mesmerized and couldn’t stop looking.” Alex stops talking when she hears Maggie chuckling. “What?” She balks at the laughter.

“You think it’s cool?” Maggie 

“A little nerdy but yeah it’s cool.”

Maggie sands there smiling at her until she remembered something Alex said. “you noticed me watching the cars when we were driving?”

“Yeah.”

“Why didn’t you say something or just ask me?”

“It seemed like you were trying to hide it and I didn’t want to make you talk about something that you didn’t want to talk about. And maybe, it was a little bit fun figuring out the plates that you like and don’t like. For example, you cringe every time you see a plate from Nebraska, understandably so of course. You smile the brightest when you see a plate from Hawaii. I think that might have something to do with the Hawaiian plates that have a rainbow on them. You are surprised the most when you see a plate from Alaska, probably because Alaska is kind of far away and it’s rare to see plates from there.”

Maggie stood there shocked to the core. Never in her life had someone reacted this way after finding out she was maybe, slightly, a little bit obsessed with license plates. She usually got made fun of or told how weird it was to notice differences between plates. No one ever cared enough about her to not only take an interest in license plates let alone figure out which plates were her favorites, which ones she thought were boring, and which ones she hated. “You noticed all of that?” Alex nods. “You’re pretty amazing you know that.” 

“I’ve been told that once or twice.” She smirked. “I have a couple questions though. Why were you trying to hide it from me and when did your interest start because it looks like you’ve had some of these plates for a while.”

“When I was growing up, after my dad kicked me out, I dreamed about growing up and moving out of Nebraska. Every time I went driving or rode the bus or my bike or when I sat outside, I watched the cars and I read the license plates. Every single time I saw a plate from a different state my mind wandered and my heart soared. I imagined what it would be like to live in that state instead. I would make up stories about where the people were going or coming from, what their lives were like. I Imagined what it would be like one day when I would be able to drive away to different states and go on adventures. It gave me something to look forward to something to live for sometimes. Also, ya know, some of the plates are just really, really pretty. I didn’t talk about it because I’ve been made fun of for knowing which plates are from which states by quite a few people. I know that you wouldn’t make fun of me for it but that voice of doubt that’s almost constantly screaming in my head can be pretty debilitating sometimes.”

Alex reached out and grabbed both of Maggie’s hands. She pulls her into a soft kiss. When they part, Alex spins Maggie around and pulled her to the ground with her. “Tell me about the license plates you have already and what you want to do with them.” She whispers.

“Once I get plates from all fifty states, I want to make a cut out of the entire United States where each state is shaped from the corresponding plate. You can find pictures of these sculptures online all the time but part of the fun will be making it myself. Other than that, I just want to find and collect the most unique plates I can find, like that New York plate that’s white and blue instead of the normal Yellow and navy blue. Or the New Hampshire plate with the dash in it. I really want the version of the Illinois plate with route 66 on it. Did you know you can go to each states website and order sample plates from that state? Also, there’s a whole club, nationwide, of people obsessed with license plates. They’re usually more interested in the history behind the plates whereas for the most part I’m more concerned with what the plates look like.” 

Maggie talked for hours about each plate and how they’ve changed their design throughout the years. The next time they go driving, Maggie points out every plate she sees that’s different or from another state. Soon Alex starts pointing them out too. During their days off they would go for drives just to see which plates they could find. They took the license plate game to a whole new level. For Maggie’s birthday that year, Alex got her a license plate she had been dying to get her hands on. It was a custom Hawaii plate with the rainbow background that said 1 lov3 y0u. It became tradition after that that they would each give the other a plate for Christmas or their birthdays (or both) no matter how many plates they’ve accumulated. They could never have too many.


End file.
